Launch Windows 8 and To Go From the IronKey Workspace USB 3.0

USB bootable Windows systems are nothing new. But what Imation has done with its IronKey Workspace USB 3.0 flash drive is commendable. The USB drive boots Windows 8 in its Windows To Go version onto any PC (and even Mac, though there’s no official consent coming from Imation) and offers a number of features in conjunction, all leading to an extremely secure and speedy performance that blows more than a few similar drives out of the water.

The Imation IronKey Workspace is a bootable USB drive designed especially for businesses. The drive is optimized to make it easy for employees to telework, work in a variety of locations, and access their work desktops on any computer. It works because the IronKey Workspace is essentially a portable desktop. Plug it into a properly configured PC, and your system will boot up from the USB drive on the get go. To make it even easier for you to get your work done as quickly as possible, Imation even included a suspension feature on the Windows To Go flash drive. The last session you had on Windows To Go is remembered by your bootable drive for convenience and the insurance that you haven’t lost any crucial progress in data.

“This year we will be introducing IronKey Workspace products that include features such as hardware encryption, device management, cross-over storage, mass provisioning and FIPS Level 3 certification,” says Ken Kadet, Imation’s global public relations manager.

Its USB 3.0 specifications contribute in terms of speed with guarantees from Imation of maximum reading speeds of 300 MB/s and maximum writing speeds of 200 MB/s. Apart from speed, design plays an important function in the drive when it comes to security. Like all flash drives in Imation’s IronKey range, the IronKey Workspace’s casing is made out of a single piece of seamless metal, rendering it impossible to break the casing to get to the data within. The Imation IronKey Workspace comes in three storage capacities: 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB. You have the option of choosing between partial or full encryption. Imation offers the option of 128-bit and 256-bit AES disk encryption.

The price for the IronKey Workspace USB 3.0 is $129 for the 32 GB version, $215 for the 64 GB version, and $389 for the 128 GB. Prices are a bit steep for now, but expect it to decrease over time.